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Babus’ retirement home?
The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Niti Aayog under the Modi sarkar is progressively beginning to resemble its earlier Planning Commission avatar at least in one aspect – as a favoured home for retired babus.
According to sources, the buzz is that Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar and several members are in favour of appointing retired officers even though Niti Aayog already has a group of full-time officers serving as advisers and principal advisers. There are already one Special Secretary, one Principal Consultant, one Additional Secretary, two Senior Advisers, and nine Advisers who are full-time appointees of the government. Yet retired babus are being inducted on the ground of experience and contribution.
The most recent induction is that of retired Indian Forest Service Officer Dr Ashok Kumar Jain, who retired last month as Vice Chairman & MD of Telangana Forest Development Corporation. He is now Principal Adviser (Apex scale) of the NITI Aayog for a period of three years.
Apparently, his appointment was justified by his prior experience and substantial contribution in NITI Aayog. He is considered an expert on sustainable development in the Indian Himalayan Region. Earlier, C.K. Murali and U.K. Sharma were taken on board of the NITI as members post-retirement.
But many see such appointments as an attempt to extend the careers of retired officers or serving officers who do not wish to repatriate to their state cadres.